locks of hair. This cannot be
the right man." At once, Mirza Mustafa took off his hat and down fell the
locks of hair. "Behold!" he told them. "I am the one." They arrested him
then. They tortured him and _Sh_ay_kh_ Ahmad until finally, in Tabriz,
those two great men drained the cup of death and, martyred, hastened away
to the Supreme Horizon.

At the place where they were to be killed, Mirza Mustafa cried out: "Kill
me first, kill me before _Sh_ay_kh_ Ahmad, that I may not see them shed
his blood!"

Their greatness has been recorded for all time in the Writings of
Baha'u'llah. They received many a Tablet from Him, and after their death
He set down, with His exalted pen, the anguish they endured.

From youth till old age, this illustrious man, Mirza Mustafa, devoted his
entire life to service on the pathway of God. Today he dwells in the
all-glorious Realm, in the neighborhood of the ineffable mercy of God, and
he rejoices with exceeding gladness, and he celebrates the praise of his
Lord. Blessedness be his, and a goodly home.(86) To him be tidings of
great joy, from the Lord of Lords. May God grant him an exalted station,
in that high Company.

ZAYNU'L-MUQARRABIN

This distinguished man was one of the greatest of all the Bab's companions
and all the loved ones of Baha'u'llah. When he lived under Islam, he was
already famed for his purity and holiness of life. He was talented and
highly accomplished in many directions. He was the leader and spiritual
exemplar of the entire population of Najaf-Abad, and the eminent of that
area showed him unbounded respect. When he spoke out, his was the deciding
opinion; when he passed judgment, it took effect; for he was known to all
as the standard, and the authority of last resort.

He had no sooner learned of the Bab's Declaration than he cried out from
the depths of his heart, "O our Lord! we have indeed heard the voice of
one that called. He called us to the Faith--'Believe ye on your Lord'--and
we have believed."(87) He rid himself of all impeding veils; his doubts
dispelled, he began to extol and glorify the Beauty promised from of old.
In his own home, and at Isfahan, he became notorious for declaring far and
wide that the advent of the long-desired One had come to pass. By the
hypocrites, he was mocked, cursed and tormented. As for the people, "the
mass, as a snake in the grass," who had worshiped him before, now rose up
to do him harm. Every day brought on a f